


Air (The Tire Swing Incident)

by spinner33



Series: CM - Close to Canon [28]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 19:14:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5303444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinner33/pseuds/spinner33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid puts up a tire swing for Jack.  Hotch gets in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Air (The Tire Swing Incident)

“Oh my god!” Prentiss exclaimed.

“Did you jump in front of a truck?” JJ squealed.

“Did Reid hit you with the unabridged OED?” Rossi demanded. 

“I don’t think Pretty Boy can even lift that,” Morgan grinned.

Hotch laughed even though it hurt to do so. His nose hurt, his forehead throbbed, and his eyes tingled. His shoulders shivered as he held himself as still as possible.

“It looks worse than it is,” Hotch assured him. “The swelling has gone down considerably since Friday.”

“If this is after, I’d hate to see how bad before was,” Garcia grimaced.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Rossi urged, sitting down on the end of Hotch’s hospital bed.

“Friday evening, Jack says to Reid, ‘Could I have a tire swing in that tree outside the window?’,” Aaron said as he moved to sit up.

“Try not to move so much,” Emily sighed. She walked to the side of the bed and put another pillow under his head, and searched around for the remote to make the head of the bed raise.

“Reid says yes. He says yes to anything Jack asks for,” Hotch continued. “It’s starting to become a problem. Anyhow, I was busy with paperwork in the study.”

“Go on,” JJ said.

“Where is Reid?” Hotch asked. He was having a hard time seeing through the swollen eyes and blurry vision.

“He stepped down the hall to the nurses’ station. Said he would be back in two minutes,” Morgan replied.

“So they get an old tire from the barn, find a good rope. I glance out the window to see Jack climbing up the tree. He gets on a branch and tosses the end of the rope back down to Reid, who then helps him back out of the tree. Reid gets the swing tied up properly. Then all I’m hearing is Jack squealing and laughing because Reid is pushing him on the swing, and Jack is having the best time. I’m thinking, that’s wonderful of you, hon, but could you not have picked any of the other thirty five or forty trees that are not growing right next to the window where I’m trying to catch up on paperwork?”

Rossi laughed deeply, and the expression took years off his features.

“Hotchness, what a wet blanket you are,” Garcia laughed.

“Then the inevitable happens. I’m watching Jack, and Jack realizes that he can see me. He’s swinging harder and higher and faster so he can wave to me through the window.” 

“Uh oh,” Prentiss whispered.

"This is not going to end well, is it?" Morgan snickered.

“I look up. He reaches full swing, maximum height, and he waves. He goes back down. He comes back up. This time, he waves with both hands. He’s not hanging onto the rope or the tire. And I know what’s coming. I see Jack falling. I see the look on his face. I run out of the room, down the stairs, and the whole time, I’m hearing him scream as I’m running.”

"Is Jack okay?” Rossi gasped.

“Oh, no! He’s fine!” Hotch exclaimed. “Reid caught Jack. He’s fine. Boy Genius puts him back on the swing. Starts swinging him again. Meanwhile I burst out the backdoor, run around the side of the house, and get just close enough that one good push from Reid, and the tire swing and Jack both connect with my head.”

Everyone winced collectively and cringed away.

“I woke up in the ambulance,” Hotch concluded. "Jack is crying. Reid is crying. The medic is in actual physical pain, trying not to laugh."

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Rossi stressed to Hotch, patting him on one foot.

Reid re-entered the room, carrying something blue and cold in his hands. He was juggling it back and forth between his fingers and his palm. Everyone was looking at him—some of them were smiling and others were scowling. Spencer nervously passed through the rest of the team and moved to the side of Hotch’s bed.

“Mmmm,” Aaron groaned happily as Reid placed the puffy face mask down over his swollen features. “There you are. I wondered where you went.”

“So, Reid, I guess you took the swing down?” Morgan asked.

“Yes. I took it down. I got Jack a swing set instead. It’s closer to the ground—not as much danger of a bad fall. It’s not under the map room window, so Hotch won’t be disturbed. It’s in the backyard, so there’s lots of soft grass to land on, although I am considering fleshing it out with a sand area,” Reid reported.

“You got Jack a swing set?” Hotch echoed, puzzling. “When did you do that?”

“It’s more of a play set than a swing set. There’s a part where you can climb, swing, or slide, and part of it looks like pirate ship…” Reid’s voice trailed off as he smiled happily.

“When did you….” Hotch asked again.

“Yesterday,” Reid replied. “They should be by today to set it up.” 

“You didn’t ask me?” Hotch’s eyes were flaring.

“I asked. You answered. Don’t you remember?” Reid asked hopefully.

“When did you ask?” Hotch wondered, frowning. Yesterday was a dizzy blur, and Reid well knew that. Spencer stared at the floor and back up at Aaron, biting his lip. Hotch was really frowning now. His bruised features made his expression even more fearsome.

"Yesterday," Reid repeated.

“Visiting hours are over,” Hotch announced. “Everyone out.”

No one was going to argue with that tone. The entire team made a beeline for the open door.

“Spencer Reid. Stay,” Hotch called out, pointing to the chair beside the bed.

Reid closed the hospital room door and slowly dragged himself back to the chair.

“Sit,” Hotch commanded.

A glance up at the door showed that Morgan and Prentiss both had their faces pressed to the small glass window. Garcia’s hair was visible, but she wasn’t. Spencer sat down, knees folded together, shoulders rounded, giving Hotch a pleading look.


End file.
